Colorful Emotions
by Ahtnamas
Summary: Kaede has cursed Inuyasha...Now when he's mad, his ears turn red. When jealous, they turn green, and so on. How can Inuyasha hide his emotions from Kagome when she can tell what he's feeling? Easy: he can't. InuKag, MirSan.
1. Helping My Sister's Reincarnation

**Colorful Emotions**

_Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha._

_Rated K+ for Miroku's pervertness, even if it is canon. _

Chapter 1: Helping My Sister's Reincarnation

Inuyasha sighed, staring at a tiny frog. It looked up at him and croaked, reminding him of the way Miroku sounded when he was trying to sing.

Inuyasha had been sitting on a rock for twenty minutes doing nothing and he was getting tired of it Things had quieted down for a while. A _long _while, actually. No more demons had come to attack them. Which you would think was a good thing, but really! How could anyone _stand _doing nothing for...a month? 

_Naraku has probably fallen down some hole and gotten stuck there_, Inuyasha thought, smirking at the image: a huge white baboon flopping intoa ditch. _Cuz he hasn't been bugging us for a long_ _time_.

Sometimes Inuyasha wished that everyone would just go away and leave him alone, but now that it had actually happened, he regretted ever thinking that.

He sighed again. Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were out playing a game (how stupid!) or something. Being as moody as ever, he refused.

So he had been looking at a frog that apparently had more to do than he did.

Inuyasha switched his gaze up at the afternoon sky. The hot sun was glaring down at him and the clouds were moving away.

He shielded his eyes and saw something come from the mountains.

Something fast. Something annoying. 

Something named Kouga.

_Did I say that I regretted people not bothering us_? Inuyasha thought. _I take that back_.

Kouga saw him. "Oh, it's you," Kouga said, glaring down at him in disgust. "Idiot pup. Oh well. You might as well make yourself useful while I'm here."

Inuyasha fumed, a thousand curses ringing in his mind threatening to come out. "Why are you here, you stupid, flea-bitten wolf?"

"Where has my beloved mate gone?" Kouga asked. "Speak, O Pathetic Mongrel."

Inuyasha's short temper was about to blow. Yet again. Just on cue, Kagome and the others came back.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome yelled. "Oh! Kouga's here. Are you making fun of him again?"

Inuyasha grumbled. "That stupid brainless chicken of a wolf started it."

_Where _do _they get those insults_? Kagome wondered, staring at them.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other. "He's jealous again," Miroku whispered to Sango.

"Oh, yes," Sango agreed, as Shippou nodded.

Inuyasha stared daggers at them. Well, not only daggers. He stared daggers, swords, knives, his Tetsusaiga, and every other weapon he could think of at them.

Deciding to ignore Inuyasha, Kagome turned to Kouga, trying to make polite conversation. "So, uh, what brings you here, Kouga?"

"Ah, Kagome, my mate, you look so beautiful today," Kouga said, while Kagome smiled nervously.

"I was just coming to check up on you," Kouga continued. "Just to make sure that your puppy hasn't been too...er..." He looked at Inuyasha, who was scowling. "Too _idiotic_."

"Get lost, wimpy wolf," Inuyasha sneered.

Kagome glared at him. _Could he even _try _to be a little more civil_? "Inuyasha, sit."

His voice muffled by the dirt, he mumbled, "Wasn't my fault."

"Ah!" Kouga said triumphantly. "I see that pooch has been taken care of. Then I shall leave. Goodbye, Kagome, I will rescue you from this puppy someday soon. Just wait a longer while."

He zoomed back to the mountains.

"Why do you _always_ take his side?" Inuyasha complained, getting up and dusting himself off. "It's disgusting, watching you flirt with that ugly...ugly...booger head."

Miroku and Sango smirked.

Kagome seethed. "I wasn't taking his side, Inuyasha," she said, trying to be calm. _I'll just ignore him_, Kagome thought, deliberately looking the opposite direction.

Although she couldn't resist something. "Sit," she said.

XXX

Kaede watched the scene from the window of her hut. Just looking at Inuyasha made her want to smack him upside the head. Not that she didn't like him, but really. He was frustrating. Didn't he get on anyone else's nerves _besides_ hers?

"That Inuyasha...why doesn't he just admit his feelings to Kagome instead of making himself so jealous he can't sit still?"

And Kagome. Kaede admired her patience. If she had been Kagome, she'd have sat Inuyasha so many times he'd be in a crater, and then she'd have left him there.

She continued to watch. The demon exterminator and the monk were staring at the other when one wasn't looking, she noted. Actually, Miroku just kept staring.

Kaede groaned in frustration, looking like the audience of a romance movie where everyone knows that two characters are in love except for the characters themselves.

Inuyasha and Kagome were both in love with each other. One was afraid to admit it, and the other was too stubborn to.

Deciding that Miroku and Sango could figure something out themselves (Miroku wasn't the _least_ bit shy), she decided to help Kagome. Kagome had a bigger problem anyway. Inuyasha was way too stubborn.

Although most people saw Kaede as a grumpy old hag, she was a bit nosy and quite the matchmaker. Or so she thought.

_I'm no being nosy, I'm just helping my sister's reincarnation_, Kaede thought. Pausing, she frowned. _Even though it does sound quite weird_.

"Now," Kaede said to herself, looking through all her potions, which were hidden underneath some of her floorboards, stocked for emergencies. And this qualified as one. "Which should I use?"

Kaede looked them up and down before smiling and picking up two bottles—one was a murky brown and very suspicious indeed, and the other was light pink with bubbles.

She immediately began working. _This one never fails_.

XXX

Inuyasha grumbled, finally getting up when his "sit" was over. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, realizing that it was just another typical fight and nothing out of the ordinary, didn't even blink.

"I'm going to sleep outside tonight," Inuyasha snapped.

No response. Everyone was used to that. Kagome was pressing her lips down tightly, refusing to talk to him. That was also to be expected.

Kagome stalked into Kaede's hut. Miroku and Sango looked at each other awkwardly. "Well, Shippou, I suppose we should be getting inside too." 

They left Inuyasha brooding in the dark.

XXX

Kaede was finishing up her potion when Kagome entered the room.

"Oh, hello, Kagome," Kaede greeted her, purposely shielding the potion from view.

"Hi," Kagome mumbled.

_I guess Inuyasha really did it this time_, Kaede thought. "Why don't you go to sleep? Then the next morning everything will be better."

Kagome rubbed her eyes, not realizing until then that she was tired. "Good idea," she yawned.

The potion sent up a wisp of smoke. It was done. Finally. Kaede stuffed it into a bottle quickly, making sure Kagome was quite well out of the room.

_Oh, Inuyasha. Won't you be in for a surprise_, Kaede thought, stifling a grin.

XXX

Around midnight, Kaede walked outside quietly. She didn't want to wake Inuyasha. Or the others.

She was too busy trying to be quiet that she didn't notice a twig on the ground. She winced at the snap that it made. Looking around, she checked for the damage she had caused. An owl flew away from a tree, but that was it.

Kaede tiptoed to the place Inuyasha was peacefully sleeping. On a tree; on top of a low branch that thankfully she could reach.

He was supposed to have sensitive demon senses, yet he wasn't alert at all. Was something wrong? Kaede thought this through before abandoning the idea. Nah. He was just a heavy sleeper. Or perhaps he just didn't want to wake up. Demons' wills were powerful. Even a half-demon's (although Inuyasha made up for his other half by being stubborn.) And even if the will was about something superficial and stupid.

She paused. One problem in this wonderful plan was that she had no idea how to actually make Inuyasha drink the potion when he was asleep.

Waking him up was out because...who in their right mind would drink a muddy brownish-pink fizzling drink?

Kaede would just have to stuff it in the hanyou's mouth.

_Here goes_.

XXX

Kaede smiled. The deed was done: she had cast a spell on Inuyasha. A spell that would be quite useful to Kagome.

_Inuyasha, you're never going to know what hit you_.

XXX


	2. Green Eared Jealousy

**Colorful Emotions  
**  
_I can't believe I got so many reviews for this. Thirty for one chapter! Ahaha! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!  
_  
Chapter 2: Green-Eared Jealousy

Inuyasha woke up to a cheerful morning sun. Birds chirped and a slight breeze swept through the air.

It was the same old thing, but something felt a little different.

For one thing, the taste in his mouth was bitter. Like he had eaten something really bad overnight. Then he began to panic. What if it was poison or something?

Inuyasha shrugged it off. "Or maybe the others' paranoia is getting to me." _Besides, who had ever heard of sleep-eating_?

Without another thought, he hopped off the tree to go back to the hag's hut.

XXX

After dragging Shippou out of bed, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango headed out back where they had started.

The day was extremely similar to yesterday, a thought that bored Inuyasha already.

In fact, it almost seemed like déjà vu when Inuyasha met his pal the frog again.

The only thing missing was...**  
**  
Inuyasha squinted, seeing a whirling of colors behind a zooming...thing.

...was not missing anymore.

"Kouga," Inuyasha nodded curtly. "Why are _you_ here again?"

"Oh, hi, Kouga," Kagome said, with a forced smile. "Uh, it's nice to see you again," she said, while Inuyasha scoffed quite noticeably.

Kouga beamed. "Kagome, I knew you'd realize how much better I am than that puppy."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha instinctively, wondering what he would do. Whether he would sit and insult Kouga or get up and fight him, that is. Those seemed to be the only two choices.

However, Inuyasha was crouched on the ground with a dark aura hovering over him. He wasn't saying anything at all. He was so mad that his ears were turning red...

Wait. _His ears were turning red_?

Kagome gaped, wondering if it were just her imagination. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, but he still looked the same: red.

"Inuyasha..." Miroku began.

"_What_?" he snapped.

"Your...uh..." Sango tried, but no other words came out.

"_Well_?" Inuyasha snarled with impatience as he waited for his brainless friends to finish their stupid sentence.

"_Your ears changed colors_!" Shippou yelled happily.

There was silence as five pairs of eyes trailed up to look at Inuyasha's ears if they weren't looking at him yet. Inuyasha stared blankly. "My ears...?"

Kouga began laughing, breaking the stupefied calm. Soon he was howling, almost rolling on the floor. "He calls himself a demon...!"

XXX

Kaede smiled, satisfied. So the potion did work. Well, _obviously_ red meant anger.

_I wonder how Inuyasha would look with green ears. Now to make him jealous..._

And then there was blue for sad and some other colors, she read, checking the bottle's instructions, which had been written in small text stuffed under the cap of the bottle. Apparently, it had not been a well-organized potion. Some random girl had made it as an experiment and then...voila! Kaede's perfect potion had been made.

She heard pounding next to the door, as Inuyasha was stomping over. He slammed the door shut, followed by a bunch of confused humans (and two laughing demons.)

"Hag!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kaede looked at him calmly. "Eh?"

"My ears!" he shouted, anger and confusion etched all over his face.

_Should I tell him_? Kaede wondered, sorting out the dilemma in her head _Hmm. _

_If I _do _tell him, he'll try to hide it. On the other hand, maybe he'll realize that he can't hide his feelings and he'll have to tell Kagome_.

Then she shrugged. _Nah. I'd rather see his ears green first_.

"I don't know, Inuyasha," Kaede said. "But you know, when _humans _get mad, _their_ ears sometimes turn red too. Sometimes even purple, so you should be lucky."

Not comforted, Inuyasha snarled and stomped back outside, followed by a hooting Kouga and a bouncing Shippou.

Kaede motioned for Kagome, Miroku, and Sango to come closer, and she told them about the potion. 

Their reactions were exactly what Kaede expected. Kagome and Sango were surprised, and Miroku was planning who-knows-what.

Kagome's eyes widened. "So, we can all read his emotions? All because of a potion?" Miroku looked a bit devious.

Kaede nodded. "Why don't you keep it a secret?" Kaede told them. "Let him wonder for a while."

XXX

Inuyasha dug into Kagome's backpack, looking for ramen. After that confusing episode, he was beginning to feel a bit hungry. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou were back at Kaede's hut, leaving him and Kagome alone. A thought that made him a bit nervous.

His hand hit something hard and he picked it up. It was a box, tied with a pink ribbon. "What's this?"

Kagome looked at him. "Oh. Something from Houjo."

Inuyasha blinked. "Who?"

"He's a friend. From school," Kagome told him.

"And he's been giving you _gifts_?" Inuyasha said suspiciously, feeling something strange that he had never felt before. "And you _keep_ them in your _backpack_?"

Kagome blushed. "Yeah, so?" she asked defensively. It's not as if she liked Houjo or anything. She just didn't have time to put the presents away, as Inuyasha was always rushing her back to the feudal era.

She looked at his ears, waiting for something. Anything. Then she noticed something a little different from what she had expected. Inuyasha's ears were turning green. A sickly green, the way Shippou looked when he was seasick.

Green. Wasn't that the color of jealousy? And the potion would...

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, "are you _jealous_?" She'd never known that he was envious that she had kept another boy's gifts...Dense, huh?

His cheeks turned crimson. "So?" he demanded.

Apparently, there wasn't any color for embarrassment. Blushing was enough, and probably even more than enough, for anyone.

"Well, I just didn't know that you felt that way," Kagome said quickly. "Besides, it's just a gift, you know."

Inuyasha blushed again, scarlet blossoming on his face. "Why? Gifts? Is that the only thing you need, Kagome?"

Kagome didn't say a word. Her heart was pounding faster and louder than usual. "What are you talking about?"

Inuyasha continued, barely believing he was saying this. "Because I can't give that to you! I can't shower you with compliments like Kouga. And in the era that you belong, with that Houjo guy, I can't give you gifts."

Kagome felt the wind knocked out of her. She found it hard to breathe all of a sudden.

XXX

Kaede, listening once again, smiled. This curse, this potion, was already working. She watched the scene and her heart felt light.

She looked at Inuyasha's face, seeing a soft expression, the most tender one that he had ever used since he was with..._Kikyou_.

Then Kaede looked up at his ears. They were light pink.

She blinked.

_Light pink_? What was that?

The potion's instructions didn't say _anything_ about pink.

That color wasn't supposed to exist with the potion.

XXX


	3. Four Way Denial

**Colorful Emotions**

_Note: The light pink this isn't supposed to be one of those really hard-to-guess clues. It's_ supposed _to be easy. And it is not critical to the plot at all.  
_

_Oh yeah! I was told that some part of that chapter sounded like one part in one of Rozefire's stories: the Valentine's day one-shot. I wasn't plagiarizing; I haven't read that story. Sorry just in case._

Chapter 3: Four-Way Denial

Kagome closed her eyes and leaned against a tree as Inuyasha walked off, though not angrily.

She took a few deep breaths and tried to get his voice out of her head. Her heart was pounding considerably faster.

Then she heard a voice, startling her out of her wits. "Kagome?"

"Sango? Is that you?" she called, hopping up and running back to Kaede's.

XXX

"_How_ did you know what I was feeling when Kouga was here?" Inuyasha demanded, his ears turning red. Shippou hid behind Kagome, and Sango and Miroku were _coincidentally_ looking for herbs in the forest.

Kagome's cheeks were pink. "Well, besides the fact that you're a really bad actor—"

"And what did you mean '_my ears turned colors'_?" Inuyasha continued, ranting.

Shippou snickered, but one single murderous glare from Inuyasha shut him up.

_Might as well tell him_, Kagome thought. _He'll never leave me alone unless I do_...

"Well, Kaede cursed you so that your ears change colors to match your emotions," Kagome answered quickly, not looking Inuyasha in the eyes—or the ears; she _knew_ they'd turn red.

"She did _what_?" Inuyasha roared, a black and red aura blazing over the whole hut. "I'm gonna _kill_ her!"

XXX

Sango sighed and sat on a rock. "You think Inuyasha's done yelling?"

Miroku shrugged.

It had been five minutes since they had left. He _had_ probably finished throwing his routine temper tantrum; Kagome was either going back to the well, or she had "sat" Inuyasha.

Miroku sat next to her. Sango looked at him suspiciously and squirmed away.

It wasn't only that was perverted that she was uncomfortable...there was another reason, but she didn't even know it.

In fact, it reminded her of Kagome's romance novels, where all the girls were nervous around guys because she liked them...

But that was stupid.

She didn't like Miroku.

At all.

Did she?

_Well, do I_?

_Nope_, Sango thought reflexively, answering her own question.

Then, a familiar voice interrupted her inward debate. "Sango?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah?" she said, looking into his eyes.

"I have a question. It's a very serious question," Miroku stated.

Sango looked at him, trying to sense some untruthfulness. But she couldn't. It seemed as though it really _were_ a serious question.

Then she panicked. What if someone was hurt? What if Kirara was hurt? Or Inuyasha, or Kagome... What if Kohaku was—

"Sango? Will you bear my child?" Miroku asked.

_Some question_.

Sango, extremely annoyed now, slapped him across the face and shoved him off of the rock he was sitting on.

"What about _now_?" his muffled voice questioned.

XXX

_Count to three...slowly now...and then take a deep breath_...

Kagome sighed. After she had told Inuyasha that Kaede was gone, he had started yelling at her. She was _so_ sick of this.

"Inuyasha, would you please stop taking your anger out on me?" she muttered, gritting her teeth.

_One..._

"I am not taking my anger out on you, wench!" he hollered.

_Two..._

_What right does he have to call me names? I let him yell at me for fifteen minutes and all I get is a "stupid wench" comment? Forget it_, Kagome thought, fuming.

_Three..._

_Too late, Inuyasha._

"I'm going back to the well!" she yelled, stalking away.

_Oh, just go back to your stupid well and get me in trouble with your stupid friends_, Inuyasha thought dryly. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_.

Inuyasha sighed. He knew he had acted like a jerk, but the things he said weren't what he thought.

Why did Kaede have to go and publicize his hidden thoughts, his emotions? The only things he wanted to hide?

_It's not her fault; maybe if you just admit your feelings about her this wouldn't have happened_, a voice in his mind scolded.

_Feelings? What feelings? I don't have any feelings for her_, he thought, a little too quickly.

Not only would it be awkward to him if anyone figured out his feelings, it might put them in danger.

Inuyasha had always prided himself on being able to control his emotions. He thought that love was stupid. It left you weak.

That's why he kept his emotions locked up...locked up so well even he sometimes coudn't find them.

The first time, the _only_ time, he had let his emotions out was with Kikyou.

And look how that relationship ended up.

And now Kaede was trying to get him to admit his love, his _unexisting_ love, Inuyasha added quickly, to Kagome.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid_.

Now he was _never_ going to get privacy.

Stupid mikos.

XXX

Kagome flopped on her bed.

Even if she _could _read Inuyasha's emotions, it didn't help her much. He was still the confusing hanyou he had been since the day they met.

One second he was being sweet and acting jealous, the next second he's yelling random things at her.

_But...why should I care_? Kagome thought. _It's not as if I have any feelings towards him at all_!

An hour later, Kagome found herself in a pizza booth with her three friends.

She had been trying to forget about Inuyasha for a while, but it wasn't working. And now she was getting desperate.

"Guys?" she asked.

All of her friends turned to her, looking up from the magazine they were gushing at.

"I have this friend. And she has this guy friend." Kagome blushed. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "And...um...she doesn't know how this guy friend...um...feels about her."

Her friends sighed.

"Does he get all jealous?" one asked.

_Inuyasha's ears turned green when I was talking to Kouga_...

"Does he get mad when she talks to any other guy?" another added.

_Inuyasha's _always _mad. But he seems even angrier when I talk about Hojo or Kouga..._

"Um. Yes," Kagome said, afraid of what the answer was going to be. "So, how does he feel about me...I mean her?"

Her friends sighed again. They were really good at that.

"Duh," the other said. "He likes her."

XXX

"I do not like her!" Inuyasha muttered. "I'm happy that she's gone!"

Miroku raised an eyebrow and looked at Sango and Shippou.

_One hour_, Inuyasha thought. I_t's only been sixty minutes since she left...When will she be back_?

He hadn't even noticed his ears turning a dark shade of blue.

"Then start acting happy," Miroku said simply.

"Yeah, you're acting so sad, so moody, and so..." Sango smirked. "Blue."

XXX

Kaede grimaced from under a bush.

This was going to take a while...

_Three of them don't know their feelings or won't admit it, and one is too perverted to realize that the perfect girl for him is right next to him..._Kaede frowned.

Four-way denial.

XXX

_Note: Someone reviewed and told me that Miroku wouldn't have asked Sango to bear his child, so I would like to point out that he _would _and _does _in the anime _and _manga. So yeah._

XXX_  
_


	4. Genetic Mutation

**Colorful Emotions**

Chapter 4: Genetic Mutation

With a disgusted huff, Inuyasha sprang up from the floor, dusted his pants off, and put his hands over his ears.

Shippou laughed loudly and shrugged when Inuyasha glared at him. "What? It _is_ funny," Shippou said.

Muttering curse words under his breath, he stalked away, leaving Miroku, Sango, and Shippou giggling hysterically.

_That's _it, Inuyasha thought, banging his fist on a rock. "Ow," he groaned. _I've got to find a way to hide my ears_, he decided. _But how_?

He grabbed a few leaves from a tree and pushed them in front of his ears, looking into his reflection in the pond. Inuyasha scowled and the leaves fell from his head.

What now?

Suddenly a light bulb whacked him in the face (figuratively of course).

_I know! Kagome's time has a whole bunch of interesting things! There's got to be something there that will cover my ears_, Inuyasha thought excitedly.

He covered his ears and fell down the well.

XXX

Kagome blinked. Her friends stared at her as if she was stupid.

Of course, that's how she felt right now, but they didn't have to know that.

She smiled sheepishly. "Um...just checking," she muttered lamely.

Her friends raised their eyebrows simultaneously and became absorbed in their magazine again.

Kagome sighed. _Saved by my friends' shallowness_, she thought, slumping into her seat, and drifting back into her thoughts. 

Inuyasha...liked her? Was it even possible? The only person he had ever loved was Kikyou. And she had ended up killing him. Of course, it was Naraku's fault, but she _had_ killed him nonetheless.

In fact, Kagome wouldn't blame Inuyasha if he decided to never love or even to like anyone ever again.

But would it kill him to show _some_ sentimentality?

Actually...yes, it would...

Kagome groaned and buried her head in her hands.

XXX

After a few minutes, Inuyasha found himself on the streets. He stared at the zooming creatures that smelled of metal and smoke.

Aha! It was a demon!

Inuyasha stopped, frowning. Wait. Kagome had said something about those things...they were...cars. Relieved, Inuyasha walked on.

He glanced at the streets and came upon a store.

Well. He didn't know what it was, but it sounded okay. Besides, it smelled of food. A place with food couldn't be so bad, could it?

Triumphantly, he walked into the store, hands over his ears.

A weird guy behind a counter stared at him. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

"No," Inuyasha snarled.

"But...your hands are on your head," the guy wheedled.

"Um...it's a habit," Inuyasha blurted, somewhat stupidly. He walked off, hoping that the man wouldn't bother him.

How could Kagome stand to live in a place with such annoying people? In the feudal era, everyone in the market stood around waiting for people to buy things...or maybe they stood and refused to talk to him because they were scared of him...

Here, they'd probably think he was funny.

Inuyasha snorted. Then something caught his eye.

"Food!" he yelled, racing to the fruits.

_Apples_, he thought, feeling his stomach rumble.

"There's no one standing next to them...so you don't have to buy them," he reasoned. "Which means it's free!" he said gleefully. "So no one will mind if I..." He looked around, making sure no one saw him.

Then he grabbed and apple and took a huge bite, spraying juice all over the place.

A fat man wearing a blue apron with the word "Albertsons" on it glared at him and ran over.

"You," he barked. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Um..." Inuyasha racked him brain. Was there a problem? "Eating," he said.

"Stealing!" the man hollered.

Stealing? Inuyasha was confused. He didn't steal anything. He merely took a free apple that someone had generously left out for people to eat...

"And that will be twenty yen, please," the man ranted.

"Twenty...what?" What was a "yen" anyway? Inuyasha smirked. Was this man stupid or what?

"It's money, you idiot!" The weirdo looked at him. "Where're you from anyway?"

Feudal Japan wasn't the most clever thing to say. But what Inuyasha said was even more dumb.

"I'm from..." _Think, Inuyasha, think, Kagome must have said something that had to do with a place..._

Yes! He remembered now.

"I'm from Disneyland," he said proudly, accidentally removing his hands from his ears.

The man—whom Inuyasha assumed was named Albertsons—didn't have time to wonder about Inuyasha's stupidity when he saw his ears.

"Yeeee! What is that?" the man yelped shrilly, pointing to Inuyasha's ears (which were now red with anger and frustration.)

Inuyasha now realized his mistake.

What else could he do to cover it? He had run out of smart things to say...not that they were ever smart in the first place.

"Um..."

Inuyasha blurted the first thing he could say. He randomly remembered it from Kagome's "science" book.

"Genetic mutation?" Inuyasha tried, giving the man a sheepish smile.

XXX

Kagome flopped on her bed, thinking about Inuyasha. Once again.

_I wonder what he's doing_, she mused. _Having fun without me, probably_.

She sighed. Actually, she had seen a glimpse of his ears turning blue.

Blue. Synonym for sad. He was _sad_ because she was gone?

Suddenly she felt a flash of guilt. All those times when she had gone back into the well when he was mad...

She had thought he would be happy, and he had said that he was...

But in reality he was upset...

Every time, she had thought she had done him a favor, she had made him miserable. How stupid _was_ she?

She walked down to the kitchen, grabbed seventeen packets of ramen and stuffed them into her backpack, reminding herself to spoil Inuyasha as soon as she got back.

Which she was planning to do right now.

Getting up, she jumped back in the well, seeing Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, but no Inuyasha.

"He went in the well looking for you," Miroku shrugged, knowing what she was going to say.

XXX

Inuyasha snarled and then had a flash of inspiration.

In a low voice, he intoned, "I am your worst nightmare. Give me what I want and no harm will come to you. Understand?"

He clenched his claws menacingly. And the man nodded quickly. "Just don't hurt me," he begged.

Inuyasha looked at him. "Now scram!"

The man ran away, weeping like a baby.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha had tried to cover his ears with something called a "cereal box." And then a million other things, all which were lying on the floor, mangled and scratched.

Then he found the perfect thing. He picked up the object, put it on, and strolled out of the store and back into the well.

XXX

Kagome sighed.

And then everyone heard movement and scratching from the well.

Kagome jumped up and saw him, and her eyes bugged.

Inuyasha was wearing a red Santa hat with a bell at the end.

Jingle.

XXX

_Note: It seems that replaced all my apostrophes with '039;'s...Randomly. I don't know why or how, but it's fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out to me..._

XXX_  
_


	5. New Moon Surprise

**Colorful Emotions**

Chapter 5: New Moon Surprise

Inuyasha blinked, confused. What was so funny? Here he was, being a genius and covering his ears, and Kagome was _laughing_ at him!

He scratched his head, making the bell at the tip of his hat jingle, and making Kagome laugh even _harder_. Soon she was rolling on the floor and howling like a wounded dog.

Of course, our dear little hanyou dislikes being laughed at and dislikes it even more when he doesn't know _why_ he's being laughed at.

"Would someone please tell me what in the _world_ is so funny?" he muttered with a scowl, irritated beyond reason.

"Well, you do _look_ a bit funny," Miroku ventured, wondering how far he could insult Inuyasha without being clawed to death. Sango looked like she agreed but was smart enough not to say a word.

"Yeah," Shippou piped up, apparently not afraid at all. "You look stupid." He grinned as Inuyasha snarled.

Kagome managed to recollect herself ("About _time_," Inuyasha muttered to himself) and with a sort of noise that sounded like a strangled meow, she took a deep breath and told Inuyasha what exactly was funny.

Inuyasha however did not understand a single word and only heard the laughter between the words and something about a fat old man called Santa Claus...

Feh. Now she was comparing him to some fat old dude?

Hoping that if he changed the subject they would forget about it, he bonked Shippou on the head when he failed to think of a topic more natural than "so how's the weather today?".

Kagome glared sharply at him, momentarily forgetting about the Santa hat, which had been Inuyasha's goal in the first place. She hadn't seen Inuyasha hitting Shippou, but heard Shippou's agitated cry and immediately (and correctly) assumed it was Inuyasha's fault.

Yet before anyone could utter or even think of anything else, a sudden shadow fell over them. Something loomed above them, and Inuyasha instinctively looked up, ignoring the snickers he received because of the stupid jingling of the stupid bell on his stupid hat.

"Sesshoumaru," he murmured to the others, who immediately became attentive and careful, losing their smirks. Sango fingered her boomerang reflexively and Shippou hid under Kagome's hair.

As soon as Sesshoumaru landed, staring at them with a cold expression that made Inuyasha burn with anger (he could feel his ears turning red), Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped and stared at Inuyasha.

"What is that _outlandish_ object you are wearing?" Sesshoumaru asked instead.

"It's a hat," Inuyasha snapped defensively, feeling completely stupid, having no other clever comeback.

"And since when do you wear hats?" Jaken blurted, appearing from his hiding place behind a tree and not bothering to conceal himself.

"To cover his ears!" Shippou explained, not able to contain himself, and Inuyasha mentally reminded himself to smack Shippou extremely hard after this was finished.

Jaken looked curiously up at Inuyasha's hat, clearly wondering what he was hiding. "If the mighty Sesshoumaru allows me to, I order you to take off your hat!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Everything Jaken did had to be approved by Sesshoumaru. Jaken worshipped the very ground Sesshoumaru walked on and followed him obediently and obsequiously.

Sesshoumaru nodded, trying to appear as though he didn't care but failing. "Take off your hat," he ordered.

Inuyasha, realizing he would _have_ to do so anyway, didn't bother to protest; just scowled and ripped off the hat, throwing it to the floor and revealing his scarlet ears.

"Temper," Sango said, clucking her tongue but looking amused.

Jaken burst into laughter, which sounded more like amused croaking; nonetheless, it further annoyed Inuyasha, and it took all his willpower to stop himself from strangling Jaken.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened—almost the most emotion he had ever shown. Probably in his whole entire _life_.

And Kagome could swear she just saw him smile.

...Now _that_ was creepy.

XXX

Inuyasha skulked off into a corner as soon as Sesshoumaru and the rest of the group were done jeering at him. No one had to heart (or the courage) to bring him back and they just decided it would be better and easier to let him cool off.

They'd gotten much better at that, seeing as how they could read Inuyasha's emotions with just one glance.

Kagome felt a strange sense of foreboding...she felt as though she'd forgotten something... something rather important too... It was at the tip of her tongue but she couldn't exactly place it...

What was it? she thouight, annoyed.

Kagome looked up to the sky as if it had answers, a habit of hers when she needed to remember something.

But today, it actually did have the answer.

Then it hit her: tonight was a new moon.

XXX

Just then, a surprised yelp broke through Kagome's thoughts and before she could process what she had heard, strange images flashed through her mind. Inuyasha? Was it him? Had he found something important?

Kagome motioned to Sango, Miroku, and Shippou, who immediately got up.

_Was Inuyasha hurt...?_

Her feet pounded on the floor the way her heart pounded in her chest as she reached the tree that Inuyasha has been sulking on. She pushed random thoughts from her head, which were like horror movies playing in her head, starring Inuyasha as the horror victim.

She was a bit afraid at what she was going to find, but the truth was better than the imagination, as the mind's eye tends to be extremely creative and go crazy—

However, what Kagome found was even worse than what she'd expected. Well, worse in a _different_ way.

Let's just say...apparently, when Inuyasha's ears disappear due to the new moon, his hair color replaces his ears as an emotion detector.

Miroku howled like an excited dog as he guffawed at Inuyasha's now red hair, while Sango looked on in amazement, and Kagome blinked and rubbed her eyes. Shippou jumped up and down; clearly this was too much excitement for him for just one day.

"This is gonna be fun," Miroku grinned happily, immediately launching his form of an attack—figuratively speaking.

"Kagome said she's in love with Kouga," Miroku singsonged, picking something random that Inuyasha would hate. Sango did warn him not to, but that only made him want to do it even more.

Kagome gaped in shock. "You—I—what? I did _not_!"

Sango shook her head and rolled her eyes, as if wondering why she had ever befriended Miroku in the first place.

Miroku smirked in satisfaction as he watched Inuyasha's face turn scarlet and his hair matching it. "You _what_?" Inuyasha yelled, his hair turning a sort of green that was almost neon.

"Kagome says she loves you," Shippou cried out, joining Miroku.

"Kouga's stronger than you!"

"We found all the Shikon shards!" _Now to make him happy..._

"Naraku's dead!" _Happiness's color is yellow then..._

On and on it went (Miroku and Shippou kept trying out different emotions) until Inuyasha's hair had turned all sorts of colors, among them red, blue, yellow, and green. Poor guy; he could never control his emotions much.

In fact, Kagome and Sango decided it was better to drag Miroku away so he wouldn't die of lack of air, as he was gasping for breath and weak with laughter.

Inuyasha, brimming with uncontrollable anger, made a mental note to get rid of all his feelings and never trust Miroku again.

XXX

Kaede watched glumly; so far, her matchmaking plan was getting nowhere...

XXX


	6. Multi Colored Cown

**Colorful Emotions**

Chapter 6: Multi-Colored Clown  


Kagome watched, perplexed, at the shadowy figure of Inuyasha, faraway, as he had stalked toward the forest a few hours ago. Usually he would've come back by now. Was he really mad then?

Deciding to find out what was the matter, she walked towards him and plopped down on the ground next to him.

"Hey," she said.

Inuyasha didn't say anything but she knew that he noticed she was there. He was staring at the silvery moon reflected in the dark water.

Everything was silent for a while as they both looked out at the moon. A slight breeze completed the feeling of peace.

"You expect me to take this all as a joke?"

Kagome jumped at the sound of Inuyasha's voice and blurted out somewhat stupidly, "What?"

"Do you think I enjoy being laughed at constantly? Do you think I enjoy having my emotions posted up for the public to read? Do you think I like it? Do you expect me to feel good when you laugh at me like I'm some little kid? Because, Kagome, I have news for you. I _don't_," Inuyasha said bitterly, throwing a rock across the pond. "I do have feelings, you know. Just because…"

He trailed off, apparently angry at himself for admitting he was angry.

Kagome was sincerely upset now. This was the only time Inuyasha had actually confided in her willingly, and he'd basically told her she was an insensitive jerk.

_Not that it wasn't true_, she thought guiltily. No, she wasn't mad at him. She was mad at herself. How could she have been such an idiot?

And it _was_ true. She had acted like Inuyasha was some robot with no feelings, continuously teasing him, laughing at him…She, who prided herself with being empathetic.

"I…I'm sorry," she said to him, looking at his face and purposely avoiding looking at his ears.

"Forget it," Inuyasha said gruffly.

"But I—"

"I'm _fine_," he snapped.

Kagome sighed. So much for a deep conversation.

XXX

Inuyasha and Kagome sat in silence for a while, although not uncomfortably. It was something Inuyasha liked about Kagome; she was content with him being quiet and didn't treat it as him giving her the silent treatment (which he was too _mature_ for anyway.)

Soon he realized that was a stereotypical "romantic moment" with the standard perfect scenery and all. He cleared this throat, a bit embarrassed.

"The others will be looking for us," he mumbled. "Let's go." He shot up so quickly it was as if he had just seen Naraku. Kagome stood too.

They both walked over back to Kaede's hut, making an unspoken agreement not to tell Miroku, Sango, or Shippou anything.

XXX

"No," Inuyasha said stubbornly.

Sango, who had just walked into the room, only heard that last word. "What?"

Of course, it's such a wonderful thing to wake up in the morning and the first things you hear, rather than the sweet melody of birds chirping, is the lovely voices of your friends shouting at each other.

Sango glanced at them…from Inuyasha, wearing his scowl like an outfit…from Kagome who looked like she was begging him to do something.

"Just for an hour," Kagome was whining, apparently not noticing that Sango was there.

Sango cleared her throat, and both looked at her, surprised. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" she demanded.

Inuyasha snarled. "She…she…her brother! Party!" he sputtered, too angry for words.

Kagome sighed. "I was _asking_ him to come to my brother's birthday party to entertain the little kids. Not that it's too much to ask or anything."

Sango smirked. "I'll just leave you guys to it…"

She walked out quickly.

_On second thought, I don't really need to know the story_.

XXX

Inuyasha seethed. How dare she—?

Some nerve Kagome had.

Just yesterday he had told her that he hated the stupid curse on his stupid ears and now here she was, only a _day_ later, she was telling him to show his ears off for a bunch of spoiled, bratty, rotten, little kids?

Not a _chance_.

Kagome seemed to understand what Inuyasha was thinking. "Look," she began. "I know how you are feeling."

"Do you really?" he muttered, sneering under his breath.

She gave him a sharp glance and continued. "I'm not trying to embarrass you though."

(Inuyasha gave a "yeah, right".)

"I just need you to do me a favor. Because my brother really admires you, you know. And he'll think you'll even cooler. And I'm not exactly the funniest person there was," Kagome blabbed.

Inuyasha sighed. At least no one would be there to watch him make a fool of himself. And it would get Kagome off his back. For a while anyway.

"All right," he grumbled, "but I'd better _get_ something for this."

XXX

"This is Inuyasha," Kagome said slowly, pronouncing every syllable clearly for the kids.

"_Inuwasha_!" a little girl said, grinning.

**(A/N: It just annoys me so much when people call him INUWASHA! I mean…where did that come from anyway!)**

Souta blinked. "Inuyasha? What are you wearing?"

Inuyasha scowled, staring down at himself. A red clown nose perched on top of his nose. A frizzy blue-and-purple wig sat on his head, but was cut so that his ears showed. He wore striped trousers with ugly brown shoes twice the size of his face. He sighed. "A clown costume," he muttered, trying to be patient.

"Come on, Inuyasha." Kagome motioned him forward. Then she turned towards the children. "He's going to start now, okay? He's very funny."

Inuyasha glared at her. _Gee, thanks_. She shrugged in reply and sat on the sofa.

He blinked. "I…er…"

"Inuwasha! Inuwasha!" the kids chanted. He wanted to strangle each and every one of them but merely gave a small (fake) smile.

"I…okay," he said, racking his brain for a joke, for a modern one that Kagome had supplied him with. "Okay. Um. This is a blonde joke," he blurted, remembering the words and the whole joke from the "internet." Which Kagome had showed him. He had no idea what _magic _it took to accomplish that miracle and was oddly fascinated by the object known as the "computer". He had therefore spent a good thirty minutes poking the screen and pressing buttons.

"A blonde went to a hair dresser's one day, listening to a Walkman. The hair dresser asked her what she wanted, and the blonde replied, "I need to get my hair trimmed; just make sure that you do not take these headphones off." The woman looked at the blonde surprised, but did as she was told. While she was brushing the blonde's hair, she accidentally bumped the headphones, knocking them to the ground. As she bent down to pick them up, the blonde fell over onto the floor. The hair dresser was very confused. She picked up the head phones and listened. This is what she heard: "Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe out..."!"

Kagome grinned slightly. The kids stared. No one laughed.

Inuyasha sighed. Next.

"Two blondes are walking down the street. One reaches into her pocketbook for a make-up compact and looks into the mirror. "This picture looks like someone I know," she says. The other one has a look and says, "Of course dummy, it's ME!""

The kids blinked.

"You suck, Inuwasha," the little girl cried.

"Yeah," everyone except Souta agreed.

And then they began throwing things at the poor half-demon, who had no idea what was going on. Shoes flew threw the air. A banana whacked the side of his head. Even a piece of cake was thrown.

Inuyasha lost his patience and grew angry…which was a mistake.

"Cool!" Souta exclaimed. "His ears are red."

At this, he got an idea. Slowly, he willed himself to feel sadness, then jealousy, happiness, and random other colors to make the kids stop throwing things at him—or, um, to make them happy because he wanted to be a good person from the bottom of his heart. Or not.

But, even though he didn't admit it, he was actually having fun.

XXX


	7. Liar, Liar

**Colorful Emotions**_  
_

_Bad, bad me. I am such a lazy person. Actually, I should be doing a whole bunch of different things now. But here's the chapter. This one has MirSan stuff! Anyway, thanks to everyone who put up with me__. And excuse me if the characters are a bit OOC. I haven't read Inuyasha in over…three months._

Chapter 7: Liar, Liar

Sango looked at the ground, staring at the boring brown dirt after leaving Shippou in the house—he had been sleepy. She wished that it were more interesting, but no, it was always the same stinking dirt.

Anyway, why was she thinking about dirt? How…

Oh, right. Because of Miroku. Because when she was around him recently, she felt really strange and couldn't look him in the face.

And now he was trying to get her to look up by bouncing around her waving his arms like windmills—oh, well he did act his perverted self. But only once in five minutes, which was improvement…

Slowly, Sango forced herself to look up and willed herself not to blush. This was _really_ unlike her. Since when did she _blush_?

"Ah," said Miroku. "I thought you fell asleep standing up." (At which Sango rolled her eyes.)

Then he peered at her. "But really, Lady Sango, is something the matter?"

"No," Sango said quickly. "Everything's fine."

Miroku opened his mouth to say something but then stopped and instead, said, "I'm a bit hungry. I think I'll in for some food."

Sango blinked. "You can cook?"

"No," he said, looking at her as if she were crazy. "But Kaede can."

XXX

Miroku lumbered into the hut, and Kaede, who hadn't had a break from Inuyasha and his gang in a long time, simply stared at him.

"Can you make me a potion?" Miroku asked.

"Depends," Kaede said, eyeing him. "What for?"

"For Sango," he told her. "She's been a bit quiet these days…"

Kaede snorted. "And I'm supposed to make a 'Loudening' potion or something?" _Kids these days_, she thought, slipping back into a stereotypical old grouch.

"Nope," Miroku said, her bad mood just bouncing off him, "just a _truth-telling_ one."

Kaede frowned. "I'm _busy_."

"With what?" Miroku smirked.

"Never mind," Kaede said. "Why don't _you_ make the potion if you want it so much?"

Miroku whined, and the two argued for five minutes before Miroku finally walked in another room to get the instructions.

XXX

Kagome waved to the last kid—a short girl with pigtails—as she closed the door. Souta had gone up to his room to admire his presents, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha in the living room.

"Well?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha looked up. "Well what?"

"Well," Kagome replied, "did you enjoy the party?"

Inuyasha turned away, but not before Kagome saw a slight—and almost repressed—smile on his face. "Feh," he muttered. "It was dumb."

"Sure," said Kagome, rolling her eyes. "Whatever you say…so we should head back now, shouldn't we?"

Inuyasha grunted. Then he said, "We should leave Miroku and Sango together for a while."

Kagome blinked. "Since when did _you_ play the matchmaker?"

"Since never. It's payback for Miroku—he'll act perverted and Sango will murder him," Inuyasha snorted.

_What a…nice friend he is_, Kagome thought, rolling her eyes, but sat down next to Inuyasha anyway.

XXX

Moments later, Miroku was staring down at the ingredients, puzzled.

_Frog mucus, three (3) spoonfuls._

What in the world? _Where_ in the world would he get spoonfuls of _frog mucus_? Um…next ingredient…

_One (1) salamander tail._

Miroku read the rest of list and sighed, and with each line his frown deepened.

He had a lot of work to do.

XXX

"Come here, little ol' frog," Miroku coaxed, motioning to a tiny bullfrog. It glared at him and croaked.

"Come here, frog," Miroku said again, slightly more agitated and with his teeth clenched. It gave a wary little hop away from the log and right next to him.

Miroku let out a short sigh of relief. He reached out to grab the frog—slowly, so as to not scare it—but then stared. Now what? He had the frog, and now he needed the mucus. He picked up the frog and was careful that he was hurting it before he put it in a small case (with air holes he had poked through using his staff) and decided to get the mucus later.

Not for the salamander tail, which technically wouldn't harm the salamander since they grow their tails back…

Miroku hopped over a log and into the woods.

He looked around and checked his list.

XXX

A few hours later, he had trudged out and into Kaede's kitchen, bruises, scabs, and random cuts all over …and some red itchy spots, from when he had picked up poison ivy rather than herbs.

"This potion _better_ be worth it," he grumbled to himself, soon aware that he would only go through so much trouble for Sango.

He sprinkled some salt in and watched the liquid simmer. It sent out an odor of rotted, molding rice.

The potion bubbled for a minute and became still—it was finished. Miroku grinned, poured it in a glass, and went to go find Sango.

XXX

Miroku found her sitting (in Kaede's hut), staring blankly, thinking. She would do that sometimes…perhaps she was thinking about Kohaku? With a pang, he vowed to be nicer to her. Minus the groping. That didn't count as being _inconsiderate_.

"Hi," said Miroku as he sat down next to her. Sango jumped ten feet in the air—clearly she had been deep in thought.

"You scared me, idiot," Sango glared at him.

"Yep, and you were thinking about your love for me so deeply that when I came, you freaked out," Miroku said knowingly—or so he thought.

Sango rolled her eyes and smacked him.

"Well anyway," Miroku continued, rubbing his head, "I saved you a drink." He handed it to her.

Sango took it and looked at it, scrutinizing. "Did _you_ make it?"

"Yes," Miroku said proudly.

Sango narrowed her eyes at the cup.

"I didn't poison it or anything!" he protested.

She took a hesitant sip. "It smells," she complained, "but it actually tastes pretty good." She drank the rest of the cup—and luckily for Miroku, she did not notice his devious smirk which he was failing to hide.

A strange expression flew across Sango's face.

"What is it?" Miroku said hurriedly.

"Nothing…" she said, her eyebrows creasing. "I just felt…weird and tingly for a second…maybe you _did_ do something to the drink…"

"Er…" Miroku put on the most innocent face he could manage.

"Never mind," Sango shook her head. "It's gone now."

_Now to test it out_, Miroku thought to himself.

At once, Inuyasha and Kagome burst through the door—surprisingly not mad at each other…that was a first.

"Oh, hi guys," Sango said cheerfully.

The whole group had made themselves comfortable before Miroku thought of a question to ask Sango.

"So what were you thinking about before?" Miroku questioned innocently.

Sango blushed slightly as everyone turned to look at her. "Nothing," she replied quickly.

Kagome's eyes widened, Miroku grinned, and Inuyasha jumped.

"What the—?" he yelped.

The word "liar" had appeared in green letters, as if written by an invisible hand, on Sango's forehead.

XXX


	8. Anti Pervert

**Colorful Emotions**

_Got into all the high schools I applied to, so I'm cheerful. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are so nice to me when I don't deserve so much positive feedback. Bleh. Next chapter, I'll do review responses. Too lazy to do them now.  
_

Chapter 8: Anti-Pervert

Sango sighed. "Now I know how you feel when everyone stares at you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked at her without responding. Kagome shrugged and Miroku continued to stare.

"What are you guys _doing_?" snapped Sango, losing her calm. She was beginning to feel a bit self-conscious. It was weird having to watch people gaping at her. There was probably something wrong with her.

Kagome opened her mouth—Miroku, knowing she was about to tell, breathed a sigh of relief as the word faded from Sango's forehead.

"There is—well, _was_—the word "liar" written across your forehead," Kagome tried to explain, sounding like a complete idiot. Miroku frowned. Why couldn't Kagome have just said "nevermind?"

Sango blinked. "What?"

"Hold on for a second," Kagome replied, digging through her backpack noisily. She grabbed a mini-mirror out and held it in front of Sango's face. Sango instinctively blinked.

"Okay," Kagome muttered to herself. "Where did that word go…Why was it there…"

Miroku looked away guiltily, and to his misfortune, Inuyasha caught him.

"Well, monk?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have anything to say?"

Kagome looked at him, confused, and Sango narrowed her eyes, coming to her own _correct_ conclusions.

"Miroku?" she said dangerously.

"Um…eheh…?" Miroku tried, looking as innocent as he possibly could—which wasn't very innocent at all.

"Spill," Kagome ordered, watching Sango who looked ready to explode…or make Miroku explode.

"Indeed," Inuyasha agreed. "I'm sure we'd all like to know."

Miroku sighed. Busted. "Okay, fine," he grumbled, inching away from Sango. "So I innocently made a potion without knowing what it was…"

Kagome snorted. "Sure."

"Okay, _fine_! I made Sango a truth potion—rather, a lie detector—so that I could figure out what was bugging her because I was _worried_!" _Oops_, he thought. _Worried? He wasn't supposed to say that aloud_…

"Miroku!" Sango yelled, bashing him on the head with those mallets that always seem to pop out from nowhere in manga. "You'd better get rid of this _now_!"

Inuyasha sprang up. "Wait, why does _she_ get _her_ curse taken off while _I_ keep my stupid color-changing ears?"

There was a pause. "Can we see how this works?" Shippou piped up, randomly popping up from…somewhere.

Miroku grinned slightly. "Sango, tell a lie."

Sango raised her eyebrows but obeyed. Miroku was really strange sometimes. "Okay…um…I'm a boy?"

The word "liar" flashed on her forehead. Sango dropped the mirror and shrieked. "_What_? Oh my God! Miroku, I'm going to _kill_ you! I'm going to butcher you, get Kirara to _rip you apart_!" Screeching, she chased Miroku around the room, Sango holding her boomerang bone and Miroku running for dear life.

"Oooh, cool!" Shippou hopped, being his usual hyper self.

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other, raising their eyebrows simultaneously.

Smiling slightly evilly, Miroku turned to Sango, who looked at him suspiciously. "Now I can make fun of _Sango_!"

Inuyasha sighed. "My advice to you, Sango? Run for it." Kagome gave her a sympathetic look, and Sango's eye twitched.

"Hey, Sango," Miroku asked. "Was the thing bothering you important?"

"Nope," Sango replied coolly, knowing it wasn't a lie.

Miroku peered at her forehead, which remained blank. "Dang. Hm…Do you hate me?"

"_Yes_," Sango hissed. "Or at least, I will if you don't shut up."

Miroku, undaunted, shrugged, and then grinned. "Aha, no you don't!"

Sango flushed, feeling her forehead tingle slightly. So she was telling a lie. And he knew it. Fine. Not a big deal. It didn't matter that she didn't hate him. There was a whole range of other emotions: dislike, like as a companion, like as a friend, and…that was _it_. And it would always be that way.

Miroku's questioning continued for a while, Sango growing more and more agitated every time she lied, which she did even though there was no point.

"Do you like me as a friend?" Miroku tried.

"No."

_Liar_.

"Do you think I'm good-looking?" Miroku chirped happily, having the time of his life.

"No," Sango snapped.

_Liar_.

"Argh!" she yelped, frustrated, glaring at Miroku.

"Do you _like_ me?" Miroku asked, pushing his luck.

At this, Sango clapped a hand over her forehead. No one was going to know the answer to _that_ before she did—and she hoped she knew the answer. "Miroku! Get lost!"

Well, the only good thing about this was that Miroku was having so much fun he even forgot to be perverted…

And speaking of perverted, Sango had a _very_ good idea…

XXX

Inuyasha and Kagome stared. They had nothing to do, really.

"So…" Kagome turned to Inuyasha, expecting him to start up a conversation.

"Mm," he grunted.

"Well, Sango and Miroku would make a good couple, wouldn't they?" Kagome asked, voicing an opinion she had kept to herself for a while—well, to herself and Shippou, who agreed with everything she said anyway.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Yeah sure, if perfect couples bite each other's heads off every day," he snapped, cynical.

Kagome sighed. So much for starting up a conversation.

Then, to her surprise, he continued. Begrudgingly, he added, "Actually, I suppose…they would. Not that I would know anything about love…" He gave a bitter laugh.

Kagome winced. She was so insensitive…of course the topic of love would be a touchy subject for Inuyasha. She snuck a look at his ears, which had turned blue—surely he was thinking about Kikyou. And Naraku.

Not that she blamed him.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked cautiously.

No response.

"I'm sorry about…you know, everything," she said, trying her best not to sound stupid, which she was failing at miserably.

Inuyasha looked down, his eyes riveted to the floor.

"And if you ever need to…um...talk, I'll be there," Kagome continued.

His ears returned to their normal color, and he looked up, his gaze locked in hers.

"I know," Inuyasha said quietly.

XXX

Sango barged through Kaede's room, where she was sitting down doing nothing. "Kaede," she exclaimed. "I need…"

"A potion?" asked Kaede grumpily. "Seems that's all you kids ask for now."

Anyone else would have been happy that someone came to distract you from your boredom, as Kaede had been staring at the wall, but not Kaede. Kaede was content to just sitting and thinking. She could do so for hours at a time.

"Well, yes," Sango said sheepishly. She told the old lady the one she needed and was extremely relieved when it was determined that that particular concoction had been pre-made. And it was supposed to be inhaled, so as long as Miroku breathed it, it would be fine.

Grinning, she practically skipped out to where Miroku was. She shoved the bottle into his face, where he took a deep breath and coughed.

It did smell rather gross. Like rotten bananas in a landfill with smelly socks…

Sango smirked. Miroku would be very, very surprised.

Now she just had to wait.

"Oh, Sango?" Miroku asked.

"Hm?"

He reached out his hand…

Sango _grinned_. He was about to grope her and she was smiling? Wait...Miroku frowned, thinking. What was going on? Was she going to do something? Ah well. Who cared, as long as he got to be perverted?

Before his hand could touch her, there was a loud _zap_, and a shock ran through his hand. Miroku quickly pulled his arm back. "Ouch!" he frowned, looking confused. "What was that?"

"Oh nothing. Just an anti-pervert spell," Sango said sweetly.

XXX


	9. Mystery Plot

**Colorful Emotions**

Chapter 9: Mystery Plot

Kagome's heart pounded. Dang it, why was she feeling so weird? All Inuyasha did was look at her. She could even feel her cheeks turning red.

Kagome took a deep breath, cursing her own stupidity. "Well, uh, yeah," she stammered, not so intelligently.

Inuyasha didn't respond. Not that it mattered. There was nothing to say.

An awkward silence filled the room.

What to do? What to do? Kagome thought, desperately digging through her brain for anything at all to break the silence with.

She came up with nothing.

Darn.

XXX

Miroku gaped, dumbfounded. What? Hopefully he didn't just hear correctly. He couldn't have! It would be torture, pure and simple! He could feel the walls—er, trees…from the…forest—closing in on him. He felt lightheaded.

Sango raised an eyebrow at him. He was writhing on the floor now.

Although that spell was a pretty good idea. If she could say so.

Holding back a grin, she asked Miroku, "Uh…are you okay?"

"Okay? How can I be okay? The world is coming to an end! I can't breathe! I'm choking! Dying!" Miroku gasped.

Sango sighed. "Get a grip, Miroku. Please."

No response.

She rolled her eyes but decided to be nice. She held a hand in front of his face. "Get up."

Miroku took her hand in his, and she ignored a tiny staggering skipped-a-beat feeling in her heart, dismissing it as nothing important. Of course it wasn't.

It wasn't a stupid girly crush. That would be completely disgusting for a whole bunch of reasons. The main one being…

Who in their right mind would like _Miroku_?

And speaking of which…

Sango glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was staring at her intently, an expression of utmost concentration on his face.

What now? She sighed. "Miroku, what are you doing?"

Miroku snapped out of his daydream, whatever it was. If daydream was the right word. "The spell…"

"Yeah?" Sango asked.

"I can still _think_ perverted thoughts," he said gleefully.

Sango gaped at him for a second. Then common sense broke through and she hit him on the head.

Groaning, she dragged him back to Kaede's hut, careful to lead him on the rockiest, roughest path there.

XXX

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, a bit annoyed that it was only she who was stressing to make conversation.

Inuyasha didn't seem to care. He stared at the wall blankly, not noticing anyone or thing around him.

"You know," Kagome snapped, "you could make some effort too."

Inuyasha blinked, coming out from his reverie. "What?"

Kagome huffed. "Nevermind."

"And how is it fair that you can get mad at me without telling me what I did?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Who said it had to be _fair_?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"And now you're being immature," Kagome grumbled.

"And how is that _immature_?" Inuyasha's ears were slowing turning red—although that wasn't much help for anyone.

"I—because—just…argh!" Kagome threw her hands up in frustration.

Inuyasha was about to reply when Sango slammed the door open and dumped Miroku on the floor.

Sango peered at Inuyasha. "Did we interrupt something?"

"Yup."

Kagome frowned as Sango turned a questioning glance at her. "Don't look at me. It's Inuyasha that's acting _stubborn _and _out of control_ and _selfish_."

Miroku blinked, turning to glance at Inuyasha, who was seething, his ears bright red. "Ah…right." He nudged Sango, who took the hint quickly. She added, "Well, we're gonna…go…take, uh, Kirara to play. We'll leave you to sort this out. Later!"

They sped off.

Inuyasha fumed, ignoring the other two. "What is your problem?"

Kagome snorted. "You."

"Hey, _you're_ the one who always has to go back to that era of yours all the time when I—when we need you…for the…the jewel," Inuyasha said.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Oh, so it's _this_ argument again? Honestly, at least you can try to think of something different to insult me instead of using that pathetic 'always-going-back-to-your-era' thing. And speaking of which, I'll be going back there now."

She quickly picked up her backpack and stormed out.

"See if I care," Inuyasha grumbled, ears turning blue.

As soon as he finished his sentence, Shippou popped up from nowhere.

"Hey, Inuyasha, what was that fight about? Huh? Huh?"

_Good question_, Inuyasha thought. He sat for a while, pondering.

Shippou blinked at him. From the way he was acting, one would think he was a philosopher contemplating the meaning of life; he was that deep in thought.

"Well?" Shippou prompted. He was expecting a good answer. Inuyasha'd better have a good answer for making Kagome mad _again_! "What was it about?"

Silence.

"Not a clue." Inuyasha stated.

"Come on then, let's go look for Sango and Miroku." Shippou sighed. Inuyasha _was_ really hopeless sometimes.

XXX

Sango glared. "What is it, Miroku?"

Miroku got down on his knees. "Please, please, please don't tell them about the curse."

"Why not? They'll find out eventually, won't they?" _Especially considering how perverted you are_…

"What curse?" Inuyasha asked curiously, his anger at Kagome forgotten for the moment.

Miroku's head snapped up. _Uh oh_.

Shippou hopped up and down. "Oh, Miroku has a curse? Ooh, let me guess. Something to do with pervert-ness?"

Miroku sighed. "Is it so easy to guess?"

There was a moment of silence before Sango, Shippou, and Inuyasha chorused, "Yep."

Sango grinned. "It was my idea. So when Miroku tries to do anything perverted, he get's zapped."

Miroku sighed. "Torture."

Inuyasha suddenly had a flash of thought. "Shippou, go away for a second."

Shippou pouted. "Why?"

Inuyasha hit him on the head. "Why you little—!" Shippou ran off, yelling about how he was going to tell Kagome to punish Inuyasha a whole lot.

Inuyasha huffed and turned to the other two. "So you realize that Kagome—oh, and Shippou, I suppose—are the only ones without curses?"

Miroku paused thoughtfully. "Indeed." A slightly evil smile crossed his face.

Sango nodded. "Continue."

"So…perhaps we should give them a little...spell?"

"But that's kind of mean, isn't it? I don't think so." Sango said, trying to convice herself to be nice.

LIAR.

"Gah!" Sango shrieked, clapping a hand over her forehead. "Stupid spell!"

"Indeed," Miroku agreed, as a zapping noise filled the air.

Sango sighed. "Don't _bother_ trying anything, Miroku."

Inuyasha glared. "_Will you focus for the situation at hand_?"

A short silence. Followed by a zap and a disgusted snort from Sango.

"Well?" Inuyasha said.

Miroku paused for a second; then a devilish grin appeared on his face. "I have the perfect idea," he said mysteriously.

"What?" Inuyasha asked quickly.

"Don't worry your pretty little ears over it," Miroku replied, patting Inuyasha on the arm. Inuyasha's ears turned a dangerous red, and he huffed and stomped away.

"What is it?" Sango asked, hoping Miroku would at least tell her. Not that she would admit it, of course.

Miroku grinned.

"Not that I care," she amended quickly.

LIAR. Sango felt the familiar tingle on her forehead and instinctively clapped a hand over it.

Miroku's grin widened. He opened his mouth to say something, probably an "I told you so" but before he could further annoy her, she snapped at him, "Fine, I'm curious. Is that so hard to believe? _Now_ would you tell me?"

"Nope." He strode away.

Groaning slightly, Sango began to fear for Kagome.

XXX

"I'm back," Kagome said flatly, coming in to the hut. She gave Sango, Miroku, and Shippou a big smile and pointedly kept her glance away from Inuyasha, who did the same.

"Kagome!" Shippou cried excitedly and proceeded to jump in her arms, earning a grunt from Inuyasha.

Meanwhile, Sango was not exactly listening to the conversation that followed, as she was keeping a close watch on Miroku.

Now he was holding a cup of…_something_.

Sango stared at the brown drink, watching suspiciously at each fizzing bubble.

Now he was handing it to Kagome…

Sango closed her eyes, anticipating…

"Thanks for the offer, Kagome, but this 'Coke' stuff doesn't look all that great," Miroku said.

Sango sweatdropped. _My bad_.

XXX


	10. A Midsummer's Nightmare

**Colorful Emotions**

_I'm back. And it didn't take forever. Oh, if you guys don't mind, please take a quick look at my fan art. Mostly anime. So if you like FullMetal Alchemist, Chobits, Harry Potter, Amazing Agent Luna, Final Fantasy, Fruits Basket, or are just curious to see how well (or badly) I draw, please visit my site, which is on the homepage section of my profile. Thanks.  
_

Chapter 10: A Midsummer's Nightmare

The night passed rather quickly while Miroku was hard at work. He was rather tired and could barely see straight, but he was determined to finish the whole thing by tonight. Everyone else was asleep, which could be considered a good thing, so he could work in peace without everyone figuring out what he was up to.

This potion really was a good idea, Miroku was sure.

He grinned and pictured the aftereffects of his plan—chaos. Okay, not really. More like a happily ever, full credit to him.

He shook the little bottle slightly to check the color. It was supposedly to be a hot pink and bubbly. Miroku squinted and pulled it to his eyes. He couldn't see clearly in the darkness, but he felt it was close enough. It felt bubbly, after all.

With a shrug, he placed the potion on the floor and went to sleep.

XXX

Morning came sooner than he would've liked, but he got up nonetheless, waiting excitedly for the others. As soon as Sango had entered the room, she gave him a look of pure suspicion.

"Well, what are you up to, monk?" she asked, straight to the point.

"Ah," Miroku answered mysteriously, "you will see, my dear Sango."

Sango narrowed her eyes at him.

Then there was a loud _zap_, and Miroku's hand quickly returned to his side, slightly bruised-looking.

Glaring, Sango grumbled, "Would you please stop _doing_ that?"

Miroku put on a not-so-innocent face. "You know I can't."

Sango, even more infuriated, left him with several bumps on his head.

She couldn't have a decent conversation with him even after making him physically incapable of being perverted.

XXX

Kagome opened her eyes and immediately closed them again, as the sun shone right in her face, completely blinding her.

With a grimace, she got up, tripping over Inuyasha along the way, who abruptly woke up and yelled at her, ears red.

XXX

Sango could hear them bickering from across the room. She turned to Miroku. "So are you going to give that thing to her now?"

Suddenly, Shippou popped up. "Ooooh, oooh. What's that, huh? Huh?" He hopped around, too enthusiastically for morning.

"Shippou, be quiet," Sango whispered. "We'll tell you later. Of course, even I don't know what it is, but I'm sure _Miroku will tell me, won't he_?" She glared at him rather dangerously.

Miroku gulped, eyeing her boomerang which was oh-so-casually right next her hand. "Of course, Sango dear."

Sango smiled. "Yes, I knew he would see it my way eventually."

XXX

Great. Kagome had only gotten up and she was already grumpy. She hoped that Inuyasha would get over himself soon though—his mood would affect the others too and soon everyone would be grumpy. A barrel of laughs _that_ would be.

Inuyasha glared at her, but she chose to be mature. _One_ of them needed to be and it was clear that Inuyasha wouldn't.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "It was an accident. And I'm sorry about yesterday too. I was in a bad mood and I didn't mean it."

There was a silence.

"Okay. Fine. I—I'm sor…" Inuyasha began.

Kagome groaned. He couldn't even say _sorry_.

"Same here!" Inuyasha blurted rather sourly.

Smiling slightly, she decided to give him a break. That was his way of apologizing so why bother asking for more?

XXX

Turning, Kagome instead faced Sango, Miroku, and Shippou, who were huddled in a corner, looking quite animated and lively for this early.

"May I ask what you're doing?" Kagome raised an eyebrow.

Miroku's head snapped up. "Oh…nothing at all," he said, very unconvincingly.

"What is it, monk?" Inuyasha demanded, although Miroku refused to say.

Shippou opened his mouth but closed it when Sango gave him a warning look. Inuyasha stared at the two curiously.

Kagome blinked and then sighed. "Do I even want to know?"

"Oh, I think you would," Sango said quietly to herself.

"Hm?" Kagome glanced at her friend. "Did you say something?"

"Oh no, nothing," Sango said, becoming very occupied with a nonexistant scratch on her boomerang.

Miroku chose this moment to hand the potion over to Kagome. He had dumped it in a cup of some sort, so it looked rather innocent. As innocent as a drink could get, anyway.

"Here," Miroku said. "Try some herbal tea."

Sango raised an eyebrow. Herbal tea? _Some_one was a pretty bad liar. Not that she could do better, what with the stupid spell on her and all. She reminded herself not to talk as anyone could then know that she was lying. And Shippou would blurt it out, so she supposed Miroku _was _their only choice.

How unfortunate.

Kagome took it and peered inside. "Since when is herbal tea pink and herb-less?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Don't drink it, Kagome."

Sango rolled her eyes.

"Special blend," Miroku amended airily.

Kagome looked suspicious and turned to Sango, who kept her face blank but nodded and shrugged, indicating that it was okay and Miroku was just being a brat. _Don't talk, don't talk_, Sango's mind nagged her.

Sango then stopped to think about what Miroku had told her…

XXX

_Flashback_—

"Well," Sango demanded. "What is it?"

Miroku paused, deliberately leaving her on the edge. "It's a _love potion_." He grinned.

Sango gaped and snorted. "Miroku, that is so completely overused and stupid."

"No it's not," he whined.

"Yes it is," Sango replied, equally whiny.

They argued for a while, using the same not-so-intelligent remarks, but soon were interuppted.

"I think it's cool!" Shippou sing-songed happily. "Love potion! Love potion! For Inuyasha and Kagome!"

"Keep your voice down," Sango hissed, hazarding a quick peek at the other two, who were yelling at each other.

"So, basically, Kagome will fall in love with the first man she looks at after drinking the potion. And that will be Inuyasha. I mean, I don't think they mean the word "man" literally; it could also include a hanyou, don't you think?" Miroku blabbed.

Then seeing Sango's face, he added, "Don't worry. It'll turn out great."

Sango was not comforted.

_End flashback_.

XXX

Kagome closed her eyes—ironically, Sango noticed—and took a sip. She winced slightly and swallowed it very slowly. It tasted strange. Sweet and bubbly. Almost like a very ancient soda.

Then she heard a zap and an irritated yell. Her eyes flew open as she turned to Sango and Miroku.

"Uh, Miroku, I really think that you should leave Sango alone…" she began.

Then she paused. She stared at Miroku.

Wow. Why hadn't she noticed how good-looking he was?

Miroku blinked. "Uh…Kagome?"

She blushed. And he was so _cute_ when he was confused!

Kagome giggled like a little girl meeting her favorite pop star.

XXX

Sango stared, agape. She noticed Inuyasha with the same bemused expression on his face. _What in the world_…?

"Miroku!" she yelled. "You idiot!"

He looked at her, very sheepish indeed. "Oops."

She glared at him. "Oops is right."

So now Kagome was in love with…Miroku. 

She put a hand to her forehead. _This day just keeps getting stranger_.

XXX

Kagome took Miroku's arm. "Hey Miroku," she giggled. "Come on. I'll walk you back to the hut and make you some nice food to eat."

Without missing a beat, Miroku grinned and allowed himself to be dragged away. Sango fumed. The idiot was taking _advantage_ of the situation! How…how…sick. How low!

How very Miroku-ish.

And there was another problem…

Inuyasha looked at her, stunned. "What was _that_?"

XXX


	11. Denial Strikes Again

**Colorful Emotions**

_May I take a moment to remind you that this is an InuKag story?_

_And. Someone reviewed to say that there is no romance. Again, let me remind you that the romance has to be developed, and yes, though it is sometimes irritating that we know that Inuyasha and Kagome are meant to be, the characters themselves refuse to accept it. They're not going to admit their undying true love to each other in the course of two chapters. It took them about eighteen books to admit it to THEMSELVES. For ten chapters, I think what I have is justified but I may add more fluff later on if you really feel that way._

_And I know Kagome is rather out of character in this chapter. I KNOW. There is a reason for this. And, um, if you don't notice the out of character-ness, ignore me and my rambling._

_Also, thank you for not giving up on me. :)_

Chapter 11: Denial Strikes Again

Inuyasha blinked. "Is Kagome mad at me again or something?" He really couldn't understand what he could possibly have done wrong, but Kagome was a girl. You could never tell with them.

Grimacing, Sango tried to explain. "Oh, it's nothing really. Just a…" she paused, thinking, wondering how far she could stretch her curse without it snapping back at her. "Just a tactic," she finished. Not that it was a complete lie…

Inuyasha looked at her, staring at her forehead and waiting for it to invalidate her statement. When nothing accused her of lying, he sighed, hoping she would continue explaining.

Sango, who was going to do nothing of the sort, felt immediately relieved that she didn't give herself away. Normally calm, she considered it a handicap to not be able to conceal what she didn't want others to discover. With a jolt, she realized that Inuyasha, who although wasn't the master of secrecy himself, probably felt the same way. Feeing sympathetic, she told him gently, "Kagome's not mad at you, don't worry." Then Sango's eyes narrowed. "It's probably a trick of the monk's."

Not altogether reassured, Inuyasha stared down to think, before looking up and nodding. "You're probably right," he admitted grudgingly, albeit still puzzled by Kagome's behavior. What could Miroku have done to make her act like that anyway? It was extremely un-Kagome behavior; that much he knew.

_Wait. I got it_! Inuyasha thought triumphantly. _Now_ it all made sense! He snorted at Sango, who now was slightly nervous. "I know what you did," he said confidently.

"You do?" Sango asked timidly, anticipating a temper tantrum the size of Japan.

"Yes!"

_Here it comes_, Sango winced. "It was the monk's fault!" Sango said quickly. "I didn't mean to do it! I mean, I…only came up with the idea; I didn't actually…"

Inuyasha frowned, feeling confused again. He thought so hard that he didn't even notice the word "liar" making its way onto Sango again. But for precaution, Sango pretended to scratch her forehead until she felt the writing go away. "Doesn't it have to be only Miroku?" Inuyasha asked.

Sango had fallen out of loop with the conversation. "Huh?" she asked, very eloquently.

Huffing impatiently, he explained, "Miroku blackmailed Kagome to get her to be nice to him."

A pause.

And another.

Sango processed the information in her head. She was safe then: Inuyasha had come up with the wrong conclusion.

_I think I still need to sit down_.

-

"Here, Miroku," Kagome cooed. "Have some more ramen." She passed him another cup, which he gladly took. For someone who had supposedly been trying to get his friends together and having it backfire in his face, he sure was enjoying himself.

"Why thank you!" he chirped cheerfully, taking a bite. _Now I can see why Inuyasha likes this stuff_, he thought.

Kagome giggled.

And suddenly, Inuyasha burst into the room, exploding. "Miroku, you—!"

Miroku smirked, getting ready to play his game of provoke-the-angry-hanyou-and-hope-to-live-after-that. "Why hello, Inuyasha!" he said casually. "How have you been?"

"What have you done to Kagome?" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome looked at him, wondering what Inuyasha was going on about.

"What makes you think I've done anything to her?" Miroku asked, very innocently. He sent Kagome a rather dashing wink, making Kagome instantly blush and Inuyasha even more furious. "Well, I haven't done anything…yet."

His hand reached out, and there was a loud zapping sound, a groan, and a very confused Kagome.

Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "Stupid pervert."

"Ah yes. This spell shall be the end of me yet," Miroku sighed dramatically.

"Back to our previous discussion," Inuyasha growled, ignoring Miroku's side comment.

"My question is, why do you care anyway?" asked Miroku, a tad too smugly. "Why does it matter if Kagome's given up on you and decided to go to _me_?"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded. "Kagome didn't go to you because of—"

A pause told Miroku that Inuyasha had finally understood what he had been implying.

"Wait a minute," Inuyasha sputtered. "What do you mean, Kagome's _given up on me_?"

Kagome suddenly looked up. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Miroku interrupted smoothly. "Now, Kagome, I think Sango's a bit lonely outside. Would you mind going out to talk to her?"

Kagome hastened to follow his request, as she wanted to talk to her friend anyway. As soon as she left, Miroku turned to look directly at Inuyasha.

"Well," he said. "Since you were too slow to admit your own feelings to her, she decided you never would. And you know the rest." _I am a genius_, Miroku thought.

"I…" Inuyasha stumbled. Miroku was implying quite a few things and Inuyasha felt that anything he said would probably incriminate him. He paused and contemplated Miroku's words.

"I don't have feelings for her!" he blurted stupidly.

"Of course not," Miroku murmured. "Of course not."

-

"Hey," Kagome said, sitting down next to Sango, who was staring down at the rocks but not really seeing them.

"Oh," Sango looked up. "Hi, Kagome. How was the…um…ramen?"

Kagome smiled. "It was great. You know," she continued dreamily. "I had never realized how great Miroku was. I mean, even though he's kinda perverted, he's just so _charming_ and so _nice_."

Sango found this hard to believe. She felt a prick of irritation but couldn't identify the feeling. And she wondered why Miroku was acting to "charming" and so "nice" to _Kagome_. Why not to _her_?

Not that, she amended very quickly, she cared very much. It was just curiosity, that was all.

"Oh," Sango responded. "That's…nice."

_It was your fault anyway! You're the one who gave her the potion_! Sango told herself. She knew that had no right to be so annoyed. She knew it, and it irked her even more. _Stupid Miroku_, she thought furiously.

"Um…Sango?" Kagome asked, as Sango had just smacked herself in the forehead.

Sango looked up, flushing. "Yes?"

"Are you feeling all right?"

"You know," Sango grumbled. "That is a very good question."

"Then what's wrong?" Kagome continued. "Was it me?"

Sango sighed. "No, it wasn't you. It's just…" She hesitated, not even sure what _was_ bothering her, only that Miroku and Kagome's new _thing_ was rather annoying.

For some reason, Kagome persisted. "But if it's not me, then who is it?"

Sango opened her mouth, then closed it. Did the spell completely dull Kagome's senses too? Most of the time, Kagome was good about not pressing people when they didn't want to talk. The only time she actually wheedled people into giving her answers was when she was trying to prove a point…

Uh oh. What was she trying to do?

Kagome tilted her head. "Is it me and Miroku?"

"Why do you want to know?" Sango said defensively.

For some reason, Kagome chose this moment to let go of the topic, completely content to give a tiny smirk andmaking Sango a little nervous.

-

As the day dragged on, the group gathered together outside at night, an agreed relaxing break from the mayhem that had just happened. Although this idea seemed to add to the pandemonium…

Kagome kept staring at Miroku, which made Miroku smile smugly. Miroku kept grinning, which made Sango and Inuyasha to want to smack him upside the head. Inuyasha kept yelling, which made Kagome defend Miroku. Sango then grew irritated, which made Shippou wonder what in the world was going on.

"Just leave Miroku alone already," Kagome sighed, exasperated.

"But he's such an idiot!" Inuyasha retorted.

Miroku subtly slunk away from the setting and walked casually back to Kaede's hut, an irate Sango trailing after him, probably waiting for a moment when they were alone to whack him a couple of times.

"So what did he actually_do_?" said Kagome shrilly.

Shippou looked up to the sky and rolled his eyes, as if asking why his friends were _all_ so thickheaded.

"He made you—"

"He didn't make me do _anything_!" Kagome yelled, now over-the-top furious. "Just because _you_ can't get over the fact that I might like someone _other than you_ doesn't give you the right to accuse him of something!"

Inuyasha was stunned. He'd never really meant anything of the sort. And what was she talking about? That he "couldn't get over her liking someone else"? He snorted. Well, first of all, she never liked him, and second of all, he couldn't care less that she didn't.

"Sit!"

Inuyasha fell to the floor and stayed there, mumbling a few rather colorful words as Kagome stomped away.

Shippou was left to wonder how one could be drowning in denial and yet still be able to see the ground.

-

_Okay. Not one of my more action-filled chapters, but it was longer than most. After this not being updated for four months, how'd you guys feel about it?_

_Thank you guys once again._


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